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Sipdown! (1 | 81)

So since I didn’t find this horchata-ish, I tried it as both a hot and iced latte with rice milk, to try to give it some of that creamy rice flavor. I wasn’t a fan though, I think I just don’t really like rooibos as a latte, I find the flavor a bit weird.

Oh well. It’s a perfectly pleasant cinnamon rooibos, and I like that it uses actual cinnamon so it doesn’t taste like candy. I wish I was tasting the vanilla though, because if I want a rooibos with some cinnamon added, I can just blend it myself. :P

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Yay, the last one from Chroma! \o/

This is a soothing and enjoyable tisane. The ratio of the mints is spot-on, it has the sweetness of the spearmint without tasting like chewing gum. The fennel adds a warming quality, and then the burdock has such a nice earthy, rooty quality to it. I’m a fan of burdock in general, so I’m always happy to find it in tea.

I tried three versions of this blend, and I think my favorite was actually the shou puerh version, Celadon. I’m not sure yet whether I’ll be reordering any of these Chroma teas. There are a few more I still want to try, but it seems like it’ll be a while before they’re restocked…

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I really did not enjoy this one…

First off, it tastes nothing like whiskey. It mostly tastes like a very gingery rooibos with a dash of smoke. It actually tastes like it has chile in it, but it doesn’t so I guess it’s just the ginger being bitey.

But for some reason, something in here is tasting very soapy to me. Not floral, but almost chemical in a soapy way.

Not a fan.

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So I ordered three lapsangs from white2tea – this one, Spiced, and Pine Sap.

Not gonna lie, this is my least favorite. But I fully admit that it’s only because of the floral notes. It does have a lot of fruitiness as well, it reminds me of stewed plums with maybe some rhubarb in there. It’s sweet with deep, dark, caramelized brown sugar and a touch of dark honey. Also malty and a bit grainy, like a homemade dark whole wheat loaf.

Sadly those floral notes ruin it for me. It’s the same type of floral taste I get from a lot of dancongs, which is why I don’t generally enjoy those either. Difficult to describe, not being a flower expert. Orchid maybe, or gardenia? Whatever it is, it always taste soapy to me.

Oh well, was still fun to try!

Sipdown! (41 | 77)

Been really slacking on the Obubu teas lately, sigh…

I really love this one, it’s so cozy. To me, this is like the better version of the generic Chinese sencha that’s used in so many flavored greens. It has that dry grass-ish flavor profile, but here it’s so smooth and lightly toasty, and without the sharp edges. This has a gentle haylike flavor to it as well as a soft nuttiness that reminds me a bit of genmaicha. Some of those more conventional sencha-esque vegetal notes start to pop up in the finish, along with very soft hints of flowers.

So cozy, and it really does taste like autumn to me. Happily, I have more (as I always do with Obubu teas, oops?)

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Picked this one up with a reward, as I always have DT rewards lying around from teaware purchases. And I do like coffee teas, and this one came highly recommended from several tea people I follow, most notably Tea with Jann.

So I tried it plain first, and I’m just not a fan. It tastes overly artificial to me, in a cloying way, even though it’s not sweetened. I think it might be the almond flavoring that’s giving me that impression? So I sipped through the rest of the bag as a latte, and even that’s not my favorite either. The milk definitely helps to smooth out some of that artificial taste, or maybe it just makes more sense in a latte format.

Anyway, definitely not one I would reorder. I just don’t seem to mesh well with DT’s blending/flavoring style, so I think I’ll stick to their Garden to Cup collection when using my rewards from now on. I have a bag of Butterfly Jasmine that I’m excited to try now that I’ve finished this off!

Sipdown! (39 | 75)

I was a bit underwhelmed by this one, especially considering the glowing reviews.

It sounds nice in theory, but in practice I find there to be way too much chamomile (and maybe it’s the marigold too, I’m not sure I know what that tastes like). I can taste some spearmint as well, and a touch of roasty oolong, but I only get bits and pieces of the other ingredients. Mostly I taste the honeyed pollen notes of the chamomile, paired with sweet and cooling spearmint.

Obviously it’s not bad, I just wanted more of the fennel and any of the cinnamon or cacao. Not sure what the black tea component is, but I’m not tasting that either. Maybe it’s heavy on the honey notes, and for that reason it’s melding in with the chamomile? Oh well, clearly I’m in the minority on this one! :P

Sipdown! (38 | 74)

This is a strange one.

I don’t really get plum. Maybe a hint of prune, but even that is a bit of a stretch. It mostly tastes like an unflavored breakfast blend of some kind. Mine also doesn’t really look like the photo, it’s a mix of what I would consider standard-sized black tea leaves and then some really fine, almost feathery looking leaves that have a redder hue. In flavor, to me it tastes like a blend of a generic Chinese black tea with maybe Kenyan? There’s a strong earthy/mineral note and then also a bit of malty, biscuity, slightly tannic flavor. As for the flavoring, I think I would believe you if you told me this was unflavored. And even knowing that there’s flavoring, I would guess vanilla or maybe caramel before plum.

Very odd, not upset to have finished it ha ha…

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I’ve been trying to get back to sipping down some of my teabags, rather than forgetting about them at the back of the cupboard… ^^’ So I try to have a box of caffeinated bags and one of herbal bags on my tea nook counter so I’ll remember to drink them. I guess it’s working, since I finally finished off this tea!

The bergamot here is a bit too much for me if I drink it plain. I find that I’m not enjoying plain Earl Grey or bergamot-heavy teas at the moment, even though I have in the past. So I sipped down the last few bags of this as lattes, with oat milk and a dash of vanilla syrup. And I really enjoyed them! The bergamot is definitely front and center, but I can still taste the jammy sort of blackberry note as well.

Not one I would reorder at this point, but I did enjoy it while I had it. Plus the packaging is just so completely stunning…

Sipdown! (36 | 72)

This one tastes a bit like bubblegum to me.

I have the same problem with some of Dammann’s orange teas, not sure why that is. It’s not super bubblegum-y, and I do get some deep cranberry notes in the background. But it’s enough that I wouldn’t want to buy this again.

I enjoyed the rooibos version more and didn’t notice any bubblegum notes there, which is interesting. Still interested in trying the tulsi version too…